To provide for an exception to a limitation against appointment of persons as Secretary of Defense within seven years of relief from active duty as a regular commissioned officer of the Armed Forces.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 335.

• Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Mr. SMITH of Washington, as printed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 167, No. 9, January 15, 2021, Page H199):
  The constitutional authority on which this bill rests is the power of Congress ``to provide for the common Defence'', ``to raise and support Armies'', ``to provide and maintain a Navy'' and ``to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces'' as enumerated in Article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution.
  Source: Congress.gov, Congressional Record January 15, 2021 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  constitutionalAuthorityStatementText

  Statement length

  343 characters

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 335, 117th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/117/hr/335

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  January 14, 2026

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 16, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  ffb21a487e843586d4650c9ead3b60ce69b08e81e2015f246bba6d1a2ef41d1f

  PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.

Congress.gov’s record for this bill does not list a CBO cost estimate or a committee report (as of January 14, 2026). Not every bill gets one.

From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 335, last updated January 14, 2026. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 16, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.